


you're my christmas

by lovely_ericas



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Erica, Christmas, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, Minor Allison Argent/Lydia Martin, Minor Braeden/Derek Hale, Minor Marin Morrell/Laura Hale, Mutual Pining, alcohol mention, mentions of the word queer, use of the word queer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-03 02:26:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2834762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovely_ericas/pseuds/lovely_ericas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a rule, Cora Hale didn't like to bring anyone home for Christmas. Her family was unhealthy levels of weird, not to mention irritating. But when Cora learns that her messy, highly irritating, gorgeous roommate Erica, who she may or may not have a massive crush on, doesn't have anywhere to go for the holidays, on impulse she invites her home with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you're my christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hernameinthesky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hernameinthesky/gifts).



> Hope you like it!

Erica was probably one of the worst roommates ever, Cora thought. She always left her stuff lying all over the floor and the mess extended into Cora’s side of the room. She was noisy and always woke Cora up if she got up before her. Erica always left her music playing from her computer when she went out and she never made her bed. Her food took up most of the space in their shared refrigerator and Erica always slammed the door, which was especially irritating when she came in late at night. Yeah, Cora was pretty convinced that Erica was a horrible roommate and a truly annoying person.

Unfortunately for Cora, though, she was also just her type. She had brown eyes the color of amber and a mass of long, golden curls down her back. Erica looked amazing in basically anything she wore, in Cora’s completely non-biased opinion, and of course Erica was prone to wearing clothes that screamed ‘look how hot I look’.

Laura, Cora’s sister, loved to tease her about, as she called it, “your roommate crush” because as all the Hales knew, Cora was not only a neat freak but also not one to hold back when someone was getting on her nerves. “You have got it bad,” Laura would say, grinning, as Cora moaned on and on about how terrible her roommate was but rarely actually did anything about it.

“Have you seen my sketchbook?” Erica asked as she came into the room, and the door predictably slammed behind her.

“No.” Cora’s voice from the other side of the room was the icy one she used when she was particularly annoyed with Erica, which was often. “Have you tried looking on the floor?” Cora added, still in what Erica privately called “the ice queen voice”.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Erica grumbled, sure that that was intended as a crack at her habit of leaving everything on the floor. Cora shrugged, oh how Erica envied that shrug, and went back to her book. How was it, she wondered, that Cora had the ability to ignore her whenever she felt like it, yet she couldn’t keep Cora out of her head.

This was her rude, stubborn neat freak, ice queen roommate that she couldn’t stop thinking about or talking about and even though her friends Isaac, Allison, Lydia, and Boyd kept telling her to go for it and also telling her that Cora was into her too, which was her best friends getting way too romantic and telling her garbage, Erica was not about to ruin the tenuous relationship with her roommate by trying to make out with her.

Erica picked her sketchbook out of the clutter on, okay yes, the floor and threw herself onto her bed. She thought she saw Cora glance at her but when she turned to look across the room Cora had her headphones on and was looking very intently at the book in front of her. Erica ran a hand through her hair and flipped open her sketchbook. She reached for a pencil from the shelf next to her bed and set about designing the costumes for the Drama department’s production of “Our Town”, which was a real honor to have been asked since she was only a freshman but also a huge time commitment. Lydia had offered to help out and Erica fully intended to take her up on her offer as soon as she had the costumes sorted out in her head and on paper.

                                                                                       * * *  
Erica was running fabric through the sewing machine in the Costume Studio to hem the bottom of the Emily Webb dress she was working on. Next to her, Lydia, who was going to be playing Emily, was sewing on buttons by hand. “So,” Lydia said, without looking up. “When are you finally going to do something about your thing for Cora? Allison and I have been wondering.”

Erica blushed and stopped the machine. “What makes you think I would do anything? Cora is so, so totally not into me.”

Lydia tossed the shirt she had been working on to one side; where a pile of costumes was steadily growing, and took a new one from the diminishing pile on her other side. “Don’t let me stop you from working, Erica, but clearly it is a big thing to you.”

Erica turned the machine back on and started hemming the right sleeve. “Of course it’s a big thing! I haven’t had a crush this big since freshman year of high school. But I live with her. I can’t do anything that’ll make things weird between us. Besides, I don’t even know whether she’s into girls and I’m probably not her type. She’s probably into really athletic, brown haired, muscular, neat types.”

Lydia stabbed her needle into the fabric. “She is definitely into girls, I would stake my life on it. Why would she be into someone exactly like herself? You are so completely her type. Everyone thinks she’s into you, why is that you’re the only one who can’t see it?”

Erica slid the garment off the shelf of the machine and cut the threads with her scissors before answering. “Look, Lydia, I’m really happy that you and Allison have each other but just because you’re coupled up doesn’t mean you can push me into something I’m not comfortable with.” She said with a voice tight with restraint.

Lydia stood up and came over to Erica, putting an arm around her. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry, I just want you to be happy, okay?”

Erica curled into Lydia’s comfort. “I know.” She said. “I’m just – it’s just, crushes are _hard_.”

                                                                                       * * *

Cora was sitting at a table in the dining hall with the rest of the soccer team for dinner when she spotted Erica – or rather Erica spotted her and came over to her.

“Hey, Cora, are you planning on going back to the room after dinner? Because I locked myself out, so you know.” Erica coaxed. Cora dug her hand into her jacket and handed her key to Erica. “Thank you! You’re the best! See you later.” She beamed and then headed back to her group of friends.

Paige whispered something to Caitlin, who giggled. “What?” Cora demanded, the cold edge back in her voice.

“It’s just that you’re such a hardass, Hale, but you go practically mushy when your roommate’s around.” Paige explained, laughing.

“Shut. Up.” Cora insisted but the whole table of girls was agreeing with Paige.

“I think it’s really cute!” Offered Sydney, looking elsewhere when Cora glared at her.

“Reyes, right?” Kara said, stealing a fry off Heather’s plate. “She’s in my European History class, the family’s totally loaded.”

“Huh?” Cora was startled into speaking. “How do you know?”

Kara raised an eyebrow, “Interested, are you?” She winked at Cora, throwing the table into a fit of giggles. Heather snuck a spear of broccoli off Kara’s plate in retaliation during the commotion. Kara took a sip of water. “Our prof calls on her all the time, she’s hella smart by the way, and she’s been everywhere. Plus she totally seems like a rich kid, don’t you think?”

Cora thought back to move-in day. She had thought Erica had had a lot of things, certainly more clothes than her, but she had put that down to her own disinterest in fashion or a whole lot of material things. Maybe there was some truth to Kara’s guess. “Do you guys mind maybe gossiping about someone I don’t live with?”

Paige gave her a little friendly nudge and steered the conversation to the topic of Heather’s boyfriend. She knew Cora didn’t like talking about feelings.

                                                                                                 * * *

Erica was hanging out in Allison’s dorm one afternoon when Allison asked her suddenly, “Do you want to come to the Queer Women’s Alliance with me?”

Erica was hanging out in Allison’s dorm one afternoon when Allison asked her suddenly, “Do you want to come to the Queer Women’s Alliance with me?”

Erica looked in her in surprise. “Sure.” She said, unsure of what she was agreeing to, but trusting Allison. “What does that entail? Is Lydia coming?”

“Oops, sorry.” Allison giggled. “Basically it’s like a club just for women who are interested in women and we talk about queer issues and stuff. We’re not supposed to talk about who is in the club because some people might not be out yet. The email is a lot more eloquent than I am. I can forward it to you. Lydia has AT at the same time so she can never make it.”

Erica nodded. “Is it cool that I’m bi or–?”

“ _Totally_!” Allison interrupted. “I identify as pan. All queer women are welcome.”

                                                                                       * * *

“Cora?” Erica said one day in October after bursting into the room. “Is your eight-ten class Freshman Biology?”

“Yeah.” Cora said as she folded laundry on her bed. “Why?”

Erica winced and Cora realized that that had unintentionally come out quite harshly. She sighed. “Yes, why do you ask?” She added in a more gentle tone.

Erica’s face lit up and wow Cora really did have it badly because she was thinking about the fact that she was the one who had put that look on Erica’s face.

“Well, I was thinking that we could study together, since I’m in Professor Fleming’s one-ten Freshman Bio class, you have Professor Fleming too, right? I didn’t do so well on the last test and we have one coming up and I really, really want to do well on this one and I mean, well, you’re good at science, aren’t you?” Erica knew she was babbling but Cora didn’t seem to mind for once and she’d basically already agreed to study with her.

“Where do you want to study?” Cora asked and Erica knew that was her way of saying yes.

“I was thinking one of the study rooms in the library,” Erica suggested as she started unbuttoning her jacket. “Is that cool with you? Also, it’d have to be after eight tomorrow because I have to work on something with Lydia after dinner.”

“How about nine?” Cora offered. “I have practice until six thirty and then team dinner and I can always get started on other work while you’re busy.”

Erica was sure that that was the most Cora had voluntarily said to her outside of bitching at her about leaving her things on the floor. “Sounds good.” Erica said softly and tossed her jacket onto her chair, a happy floating feeling in her stomach.

                                                                                      * * *

Erica took off her backpack and slid into the seat across from Cora in a study room on the first floor on the library. “Hey, hope I didn’t keep you from your work.” She said.

Cora shook her head and started moving her things so that Erica had space to spread out.

“What’s this?” Erica asked, holding up an incomprehensible sheet of paper.

“Oh.” Cora said. “Coach gave me that. It’s a bunch of plays. It’s unreadable, of course. Her handwriting is terrible.”

“That’s right.” Erica said, “I knew you played a sport but I don’t know which one.”

“Soccer.” Cora offered.

Erica’s face lit up. “I love soccer! My whole family is crazy for it. It’s the only sport we keep up with. What position do you play?” She asked with enthusiasm.

Cora’s heart swelled with appreciation. Americans were rarely into soccer. She had spent two years as a tween in Brazil, where she had learned to love the sport. Erica’s non-American heritage was probably the reason for her family’s fervor towards the game. “I play left wing back, usually.” She told Erica.

“Like Roberto Carlos! You must be really good then,” Erica continued. “That’s a hard position.”

Cora wore a pleased smile. “Yeah. Now, let’s study bio.”

A little while later, the two were poring over the diagram of a cell. “Okay,” Cora said, slapping her hand over the names of the parts of the cell. “Tell me which is the endoplasmic reticulum and its function.”

Erica pointed to the endoplasmic reticulum, which looked vaguely like intestines, and said, “The endoplasmic reticulum is an organelle which folds and generates new proteins. The rough endoplasmic reticulum has ribosomes attached to it and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum functions as a storage place.”

“Perfect.” Cora pronounced. “See, you know this stuff. You’re going to do great.”

                                                                                          * * *

  
Cora and Paige were working on the second floor of the library. Paige wrinkled her nose, which she tended to do when she was bored or tired. “I need a break,” she said, marking her place in her textbook. “Let’s talk about your crush.” Paige added.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Cora lied.

“Oh come on.” Paige urged her. “I know this isn’t your kind of thing but it’s just me and I need to live vicariously through someone.”

Cora snorted. Paige went out almost every weekend and was very popular with the boys; she had absolutely no need to live vicariously through someone like Cora who was highly antisocial, only liked spending time with a select few people, and was hung up on her roommate.

“Please?” Paige begged.

“What is there even to talk about?” Cora grumbled. It may have sounded defensive but Paige and Cora both knew it was an acquiescence.

Paige yelped. “Yay!!! Thank you, Cora.” She picked up a pen and started doodling on her statistics notes. “Tell me more about her. What do you know? Why do you like her?”

Two red spots of color appeared on Cora’s cheeks. “She’s like out of this world pretty,” Cora mumbled. “I have no idea if she’s interested in girls. She’s messy and annoying but very sweet and tolerates me for some reason. She smells amazing, and she’s into soccer, and uh, her family is from some Spanish speaking country – I don’t know which because I haven’t asked.”

“Aww.” Paige pinched Cora’s cheeks, earning herself a slap on the hand. “You really like her! Cora and Erica sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-NG–”

“Paige, shut the _fuck_ up.” Cora hissed. “We are in the library and you are not eleven years old. Why do I tell you anything?”

Paige smiled.

                                                                                    * * *

Erica was lying sprawled across Isaac’s bed, halfway on top of her best friend as she kicked his ass in Mario Kart. “Your roommate’s Cora Hale, right?” Isaac asked suddenly as his cart pulled ahead of hers on screen.

“Yeah.” Erica said, her surprise causing her to struggle to catch up. She hit her controller violently. “Why?”

“You’ve just got good taste is all.” Isaac said and it was entirely possible that he had initiated the conversation for the sole purpose of finally winning against her. “I mean, you are still interested in her, right? Or can I ask her out?”

Erica sat up and hit him. “Isaac Lahey, don’t you fucking dare!” She exclaimed.

Also he won.

For the first (and only) time in his life.

Someone knocked on the door even though it was ajar. This was of course Boyd, since no one else they knew was that polite.

“Come in!” Erica shouted. “Help me destroy Isaac in FIFA!”

“Okay.” Boyd said, coming into the room. He set his backpack down by the door and looked at the bed as though unsure whether there was space for him. Isaac sat up and scooted over and there was just barely room on the bed for three.

Squished between her two best friends, Erica still managed to crush both Isaac and Boyd in FIFA. That was one of the advantages to having an older brother.

“Oh crap!” Isaac said suddenly. “I forgot to give in my Sociology paper and its due in thirteen minutes. Professor Blake will eat me alive if it’s not in on time.”

Erica and Boyd exchanged a glance. “You’ve already written it, right?” Erica asked wryly.

“Of course, I’ve written it, asshole,” Isaac said as he frantically tore apart his desk to find the printed copy. “Got it!”

“Run then,” Boyd told him and Isaac sprinted out of his room, clutching his Sociology paper.

This left Boyd and Erica alone in Isaac’s room, which was perfectly alright and comfortable by them, it just meant that Erica did most of the talking.

Usually anyway.

“You really like Cora,” Boyd said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah,” Erica said softly.

“Do something about it. Whenever you’re ready. But do,” Boyd said in his firm, quiet voice.

“Okay,” Erica promised, giving him a smile.

She was really, really glad he was her friend.

                                                                                   * * *

  
Allison and Lydia were going as Marceline and Princess Bubblegum because they were a gooey, romantic couple that felt the need to do that.

Boyd and Isaac were going as Han and Luke respectively, because in Erica’s words “You are both lame weird nerds and neither of you is getting laid tonight”.

“We love you too, Erica.” Boyd had said while Isaac protested that Star Wars was fairly mainstream.

Erica was going as Daenerys Targaryen because honestly what blonde girl would pass up such an amazing opportunity.

Cora was apparently going to be incredibly lame and not go out.

“I have a game tomorrow,” she said when Erica pestered her.

“Still lame.” Erica pointed out. “Halloween comes but once a year. And I’ll come to your game tomorrow, even if I’m hung over.”

“Our game starts at ten,” Cora said, still not looking away from her book.  
“Eww,” Erica groaned as though it were already the following morning. “That’s so early for the weekend.”

Cora reached for a pack of gum by her bedside. “’Sides,” she said, casually. “I don’t have a costume. What would I wear?”

There was no response. Cora looked up to see an almost maniacal look on Erica’s face.

A half hour later and still grumbling, Cora was clad in a Little Red Riding Hood costume, which Allison had been planning on wearing before she and Lydia had decided to go with their couple costume.

“Oh, quit complaining,” Erica said, sitting back on her bed to admire her work. “No one is making you go out and you can stay here alone if you really want to.”

Cora gave an exaggerated sigh. Erica hid a smile.

“Fine,” Cora said. “I’ll go out.” She texted Paige and Caitlin to meet her later on at the party and followed Erica to Allison’s dorm.

Several shots later, Cora had decided that she liked Erica’s friends a lot. They were a lot of fun and they kept giving her approving looks as though they knew she wanted to date their friend and were on her side.

Isaac kept giving Erica pointed little nudges as if to say ‘make-a-move-you-idiot’, which Erica kept ignoring because hello, that was not the point of tonight. The point of tonight was to have fun and make Cora have fun. She wanted Cora to trust her and feel that they could hang out and Cora would definitely freak if she did something outside the kind-of-friendship they had going.

“Alright,” Lydia said, when they were all sufficiently drunk. “Let’s head to the party!”

There was cheering from the drunk chorus and they made their way to the Zeta Theta Kappa Halloween party.

“Hey! There you are!” Paige cried, coming towards them, Caitlin and Heather in tow. She hugged Cora then turned to Erica. “How on earth did you manage to get her to come out tonight? Caitlin and I have been trying for days.”

Erica shrugged. “I have magic powers.” She teased.

Later, Cora found herself nursing a bottle of hard cider, beginning to sober up, watching Erica on the dance floor. Allison and Lydia had disappeared earlier, probably back to one of their rooms, Boyd and Isaac were doing some kind of dorky dance together, and Paige was trying to dance with a guy she had the hots for while also preventing Heather and Caitlin from hooking up.

“No soccercest! We promised Coach Kali!” Cora heard Paige shriek as Heather and Caitlin leaned towards each other.

But Cora wasn’t interested in soccer drama. She was interested in Erica. Specifically she was very interested in Erica and very jealous of the boy she was dancing with.

                                                                                    * * *

  
Cora was headed home to her dorm but she stopped short in the hallway when she heard loud voices speaking in Spanish coming from her room. Erica? She thought. She entered the room just as she heard Erica say angrily in English, “Well, Mama, it’s clear you’ve never considered that someone might not want you around,” and threw her phone down on the bed.

“Hey.” Cora said, awkwardly. She took off her backpack and set it on her chair. “That sounded kind of rough. You doing okay?”

Erica buried her face into her arms. “No,” she said, sounding muffled. Erica’s voice got wobblier as she continued to speak. “Not really. My dad is spending Thanksgiving in New York with his new wife and her family and they’re honeymooning in Europe for Christmas and I am very much not invited to either. My mom is working through Thanksgiving, so she told me not to bother coming home, and Allison invited me to her house for Thanksgiving, but then my mom is going to stay with my brother and his wife because she’s expecting around Christmastime even though they don’t want her there but of course they won’t tell her that and she thinks I’ll be in the way, so she told me not to come.”

Suddenly, Cora realized that she didn’t just feel sympathy for Erica but she also really, really hated Erica’s parents. “You could spend Christmas with me.” She said, impetuously.

Erica took her head out of her arms and looked up at Cora, startling her with the smudgy mascara around her eyes. “Really?” She asked, somewhat incredulous. “You’re not just saying that to be nice?”

“Come now.” Said Cora, handing Erica a chocolate. “When have I ever been known to say something just to be nice?” She teased.

Erica gave a watery smile and reached for the chocolate. “Thanks.” She said. “I mean it.”

                                                                               * * *

  
“Cora!” Erica called as she burst into the room.

“What?” Cora asked from the floor where she appeared to be trying to learn German as evidenced by the grammar book on that language beside her.

“You should totally come to QWA with me! Your friend Caitlin said you used to go in the beginning of the year, hopefully that’s okay? Anyway, there’s beer and hard cider tonight and we’re going to be talking about queer portrayals in the media and it’s going to be really fun, so please come tonight!”

Cora managed a stab of annoyance at Caitlin for meddling – and Caitlin was a supreme meddler – before she realized the significance of what Erica asking her meant. Her heart beat very fast and she read the same German sentence twice.

“I can go, tonight, I guess.” Cora said in as nonchalant a tone as she could manage.

It was, of course, really fun as most things Erica proposed were. Erica got tipsy on hard cider, Allison and Sydney played makeshift beer pong on the floor, Caitlin cracked really bad jokes, Meredith, Danielle and Harley were playing Cards Against Humanity, Carrie and Emily were gossiping, and Cora was snug on the couch next to Erica holding her beer.

                                                                                * * *

Erica spent Thanksgiving in New York City with Allison and Mr. and Mrs. Argent. She slept on Allison’s pink pullout bed. They watched _Heathers_ late at night and snarked their way through a season of _Pretty Little Liars_. Mrs. Argent taught Erica how to throw an attacker over her shoulder amongst other defense techniques while Mr. Argent and Allison made Thanksgiving dinner. Allison tried to teach Erica how to handle a bow and arrow but clearly Erica was not built for that particular weapon. They went shopping for Christmas dresses and party dresses and tried on lingerie in Victoria’s Secret giggling.

Cora spent most of her Thanksgiving break in the woods with Malia, her cousin, and avoiding the rest of her family. They sat on the bank of one of the rivers in the Beacon Hills Preserve, skipping stones and reading without talking to each other.

                                                                                 * * *

  
The next time Cora found Erica in the room before her was after Thanksgiving; Erica was wearing a Santa hat, a dress with a low-cut red bodice and green skirt, and sparkly white tights while Frank Sinatra’s Let It Snow blared in the background. She was standing on top of Cora’s desk on tiptoe to hang Christmas lights from the ceiling.

“What. The. _Hell_.” Cora said, more harshly than perhaps she intended considering she was admiring the way Erica’s clothes fit her and Erica on her desk let her do a lot of looking without having to explain her long stares.

“Hi, Cora!” Erica said in a very chipper voice. She slid down, hiking up her skirt, and sat down on the desk swinging her legs and Cora had to back away a bit because seeing Erica sitting on her desk was dangerously close to one of her fantasies about her roommate. “Did you just get back? Ally and I got in at ten this morning.”

“So you immediately decided to decorate our room for Christmas?” Her roommate asked. “It’s November thirtieth, you ridiculous weirdo.” She added, her voice somewhere between affection and annoyance.

Erica adjusted her hat and smiled. “No, I took a nap first. I _love_ Christmas, plus we are going to be busy with finals when it becomes “appropriate” to decorate for Christmas.”

Cora rolled her eyes.

“Oh, hey, I got you something.” Erica remembered, sliding off Cora’s desk. “Here,” She said, holding something red in her hand. She came right up to Cora and Cora’s heart was pounding so hard she was sure Erica must be able to hear it and put it gently on Cora’s head. It was a Santa hat. “Now we match.” Erica smiled.

                                                                                        * * *

  
Finals week passed in a frenzy of studying, paper writing, and stressing out. Cora and Erica occasionally passed each other in the dining hall and at the library but neither spent very much time in their room. Cora was always asleep when Erica came home from the library and fell into bed; Erica was always asleep when Cora got up in the mornings.

Thursday, the last day of finals for both girls, finally arrived. Cora took a three-hour nap and was woken up by Paige and Caitlin because they wanted to go for gelato, and Erica played video games and ate pizza in Isaac’s room with him and Boyd and then watched _The Lion King_ with Lydia and Allison in Lydia’s room. Allison was trying very hard not to be jealous that Lydia was going to be spending some time with her ex, Jackson, during the winter break, even though Allison would be flying out to spend New Year’s with Lydia.

It was eleven pm when Erica flounced back to the room. “This is it!” Erica crowed. Cora pulled her headphones down. “We’re done! We’ve conquered the first semester.”

“Ready for a Hale Christmas?” Cora asked sardonically. “Don’t answer. The answer is always no, no one is ever ready. Have you packed yet?” This was a largely unnecessary question to ask since both girls could clearly tell that Erica’s things were in their usual location, that is, strewn mostly across the floor.

“No.” Erica said. “I was going to pack in the morning.”

Cora widened her eyes in disbelief. “We are leaving at six am tomorrow morning. I know you don’t wake up early. Pack now.”

Erica pouted. And damn Cora thought that was cute. “What do I get then?” Erica asked.

“We could watch something. Something short before going to sleep.” Cora said.

“Sounds good,” Erica said, as she started picking her stuff of the floor. “But talk to me while I pack so I don’t get bored.”

So Cora did. She talked more than she had in a very long time. She told Erica all about being terrified of the dark when she was seven, about her beloved dog Phelan that her parents had given to her when she was fifteen, about growing up with such a close family, about her stage fright in fourth grade, about all of her favorite things.

And Erica listened.

                                                                                   * * *

  
Cora and Erica took a cab to the bus station with their luggage. Cora had her backpack and a small duffle; Erica had three suitcases and a purse. They boarded the Greyhound headed to Southern California. It was a several hour ride.

Erica laid her head on Cora’s shoulder as the Greyhound left the bus depot. “Tell me about your family. Tell me who will be there for Christmas.” She could hear Cora’s heartbeat pounding in her ear. She lifted her head.

Cora’s eyes fixed on the collar of Erica’s jacket and she didn’t meet Erica’s gaze as the pink faded from her cheeks. “There’ll be us, my brother Derek and his girlfriend Braeden, my sister Laura and her wife Marin, and my parents. Uncle Peter’s daughter, my cousin Malia will be there for Christmas Eve dinner, and so will her half-sister, Caroline, and Kira, Malia’s girlfriend. Aunt Margo and her daughters will be at dinner–”

Erica interrupted. “Talia, Peter, and _Margo_? Who named your aunt?”

“It’s Margaery, really.” Cora clarified. “But she’s been Margo since before I was born. Braeden’s niece Violet is staying with Braeden and Derek for Christmas, so she’ll be at Christmas Eve dinner. And my mom always invites distant family and friends who have no where to go for Christmas, so it’ll be a very crowded house.”

“Hmm.” Erica said with a satisfied sound. “I love having a lot of people around. Thanksgiving at Abuela’s is always so full and cozy.”

Cora wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. “The house won’t be very full, you understand. Derek and Laura have their own places, so it’s just me and the parents. Christmas Eve dinner is the only really chaotic day.”

“That’s okay.” Erica said. It was the last thing she said for awhile since she soon fell asleep.

Cora was too restless to sleep. She and Erica had been connecting really well lately but she didn’t know what it would be like to have Erica in her house. She didn’t know what it would be like to have Erica around her family. She took out her ipod and headphones and read while listening to music for several hours.

“Hi,” Erica said.

Cora hit pause and put down her book. “Hey,” She said back.

“How long have I been asleep?” Erica asked.

Cora glanced at her watch. “Three and a half hours.”

“What?!” Erica’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? Wow. We’re almost there, then.”

“Yup, just an hour more. Are you hungry?” Cora asked.

“Starved, actually,” Erica said, reaching for the bag under her seat. “I have fruit.”

“I have sandwiches,” Cora offered, taking an apple from the bag Erica held out to her. “I made them last night at dinner.”

“Smart,” Erica admitted. She bit into a sandwich. “Mmm. Wow, this is really good!”

Cora hid a pleased smile behind a bite of sandwich. “Thanks. So, is there anything else you’d like to know before my family swarms all over you?”  
Erica giggled but Cora knew there was no exaggeration in what she’d just said.

Erica swallowed her bite and asked. “Your parents are Talia and Robert, right? And then Peter and Margo are your mom’s siblings, yeah? Malia will be at Christmas dinner and so will her girlfriend, uh, Kira, and her half-sister, Caroline, side note, does that mean Caroline’s not actually related to you? Your sister is Laura and her wife is Marin. Your brother is Derek and _his_ girlfriend is Braeden and her niece, I don’t remember her name, is staying with them. Your aunt Margo has daughters who will be at dinner, but you didn’t say their names. How’s that?”

Cora blinked. “Wow, how did you manage to remember all of that? Yeah, Caroline is Malia’s half-sister on her mom’s side so she’s not related to us but she loves to do anything Malia does, so she’s always come. Braeden’s niece is Violet, and Margo’s daughters are Marina and Isabel and baby Laurel.”

Erica had a very pleased look on her face. “You think that’s complicated, you should meet my family. My abuela’s been married three times and has kids, stepkids, grandkids, and step-grandkids from each marriage. My cousins Alex and Mariana, who got married last summer, met at Christmas – he’s Abuela’s step-grandson from her first marriage and Mariana’s a granddaughter from the third marriage, her mom is my dad’s older sister. Technically, they’re not blood-related.”

“That’s unbelievable.” Cora said. “No wonder my family doesn’t faze you.”

The Greyhound pulls to a stop. Passengers began to disembark and the bus driver got out to open up the hatch underneath the bus. “Where are we?” Erica asked, unsure if she should be reaching for her bags or not.

Cora leaned over her and peered out the window. “Montgomery. Beacon Hills is next.”

Erica sat back and Cora saw her face pale a little.

“What’s wrong?” Cora asked.

Erica blushed. “I’m totally psyched to meet your family, I just, I guess I just really want them to like them.”

“They will.” Cora assured her. “How could they not?”

Erica blushed harder.

There was a slam as the bus driver shut the hatch and he clambered back onto the bus. “Next stop, Beacon Hills.” He announced.

The ride from Montgomery to Beacon Hills took about ten minutes.  
It was twelve thirty-five when the Greyhound pulled into the Beacon Hills bus depot. Erica and Cora scrambled off the bus and lugged Erica’s suitcases out.

Erica followed Cora into the bus station where a dark-haired woman spotted them immediately.

“My mom.” Cora managed to get out before Talia Hale was beside them. “Hello, Cora dear. Erica honey, it’s wonderful to finally meet you. We’ve heard so much about you.”

Cora groaned, “Mooom,” and thus missed the delighted look on Erica’s face.

Talia continued. “Robert stayed home with Phelan and Miki (“The dogs,” Cora whispered to Erica) but he will be delighted to see you both.”

Erica smiled and held out her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Hale. It’s very kind of you to have me in your home.”

Talia laughed. “You are very welcome in our home, Erica, and please call me Talia.”

“If you’d like,” Erica smiled.

Erica and Cora followed Talia to the car. Talia chattered the whole way home, reminding her daughter of this and that and explaining to Erica before she asked who or what this and that was, allowing her daughter and Erica to sit in silence in the backseat.

They drove onto a dirt path and from there onto a gravel drive which led up to a beautiful old Edwardian house.

Erica felt her mouth drop and Cora smiled before helping her roommate out of the car.

“We’ve put you in Cora’s room with her.” Talia said, leading the girls up the steps and into the house. “But of course, if you’d prefer, we can put you in Laura’s old room.” She turned around, looking at Erica expectantly.

“I’ll stay with Cora.” Erica said, and it shouldn’t have been a big deal but those words felt good to Cora.

Cora led Erica into her room. Posters of Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Renate Lingor, Christine Sinclair, Kristine Lilly, Cristiane Silva, Sun Wen, and Homare Sawa were plastered all over the walls.

“So, are you into girls or soccer?” Erica quipped. Cora gave her a playful swat.

Cora began to pull the trundle bed out but Erica stopped her. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable so tell me if this isn’t cool, but I thought we could just share your bed.”

Cora’s heart turned into a drum. “Um, yeah. That’s cool with me.”

Erica flashed her a smile and began unpacking. Cora fled briefly to the bathroom.

Erica had lunch with the Hales. Robert Hale was a very quiet and down-to-earth man. His prides and joys were baking and his children, though not necessarily in that order. His wife was content to hold the spotlight and he was more than content to let her. He reminded Erica of Cora.

                                                                                     * * *

“Okay.” Erica said. “So this feels a little bit more awkward than I thought it would be.” She and Cora were getting ready for bed. Cora was brushing her teeth in the adjoining bathroom and Erica was putting on her pajamas and waiting her turn to use the bathroom.

Cora managed a laugh to try and break the tension. “Fair warning, I’m kind of a cuddler.” She called back. “At least, I’ve been told that I’m like that in my sleep.”

“I like cuddling.” Erica sounded perfectly sincere. Cora choked on her toothpaste. Was Erica flirting with her?

There was bang as Cora in her confusion knocked over the wastebasket.

“You alright?” Erica called. “Need me to come and rescue you?”

Now Cora was positive there was a kind of purr in her voice. “I-uh, um, just knocked over the trash! Hang on, almost done.”

Cora lay on her side of the bed, feeling paralyzed waiting for Erica to finish in the bathroom.

The bathroom door opened, Erica hit the light, and the room was shrouded in darkness.

Cora felt rather than heard Erica getting into bed on the other side.

“Night,” Erica mumbled.

“G’Night,” Cora managed.

Despite the awkwardness, they both fell asleep rather quickly.

The next morning they woke up snuggled close to each other.

                                                                                          * * *

  
Christmas Eve and with it, Christmas dinner, arrived quickly.

The Tates – Malia, Leela, Sadie, and Caroline – and Kira Yukimura were the first to arrive. Talia tried her best to talk the Mrs. Tates into staying but in the end, only Kira, Malia, and Caroline stayed to dinner.

Erica could very clearly see the resemblance in Malia and her aunt. Malia had her aunt’s eyes, so presumably her father’s as well, and her mother’s nose. The dirty blonde hair was a bit more of a mystery. Caroline looked almost nothing like her older half-sister. She had fluffy, light blonde hair and very clearly worshipped her sister.

Kira wore a leather jacket, which seemed very at odds both with her personality and also the rest of her outfit. She made sure to include Caroline as much as possible and it was obvious the younger girl approved of her sister’s girlfriend.

Laura and Marin were second. Marin’s stomach was showing and they announced (“Finally!” Talia muttered) that their baby was due in March.

Derek, Braeden, and Violet arrived next. Cora whispered to Erica that this was Braeden’s third Hale Christmas as Derek’s girlfriend and they were all hoping her next would be as Derek’s wife.

Alan Deaton, childhood best friend of Robert Hale, was next. Marin, Laura’s wife, was his younger half-sister. Laura whispered that he was hopelessly, desperately in love with her father and Cora told her to stop spreading ridiculous rumors.

Margo Hale and her daughters were last. Baby Laurel was swaddled in numerous blankets in her mother’s arms and twelve-year-old Isabel and fourteen-year-old Marina trailed their mother into the house.

Dinner was a grand affair. There were several courses.

Marin and Deaton fought.

Violet looked uncomfortable.

Derek and Braeden snuck gooey looks at each other whenever they thought no one was looking.

Laura teased Cora and Derek.

Marina and Isabel switched the sugar and salt containers.

Erica bit her lip and tried not to laugh. Cora helped her father bring more food from the kitchen.

After dinner but before dessert, Braeden proposed charades, which was loudly seconded by most of the family.

                                                                               * * *

 

Talia had sent Erica and Cora to one of the spare rooms for an egg timer.

“Look,” Erica whispered, pointing upwards. Cora tilted her head. Just above them, surely the work of Laura or maybe one of Aunt Margo’s daughters, was a sprig of mistletoe.

“No one’s here,” Cora said; her voice was scratchy all of sudden. She hated herself for what she was about to say. “We don’t have to.”

“Those aren’t the rules,” Erica said, and it sounded as if there was an edge to her voice. “Mistletoe means kissing.”

God, this was the worst thing and the best that could have happened all at once. “Okay,” Cora said, softly.

Erica closed her eyes. Cora took a deep breath to steady herself and then leaned in, pressing her lips to Erica’s. There was a very brief moment where nothing happened and then Erica was kissing her back very eagerly and Cora lifted up her arms and tangled her hands in Erica’s beautiful soft hair. Cora was drowning in the sweetness and joy of Erica.

“Ahem,” someone said and just as suddenly, they broke apart. It was Derek. “Dad’s asking for you in the kitchen, Cora.”

Erica felt he was judging her. She was sure he didn’t think her good enough for Cora.

Cora fled and Erica unexpectedly felt like crying.

                                                                              * * *

  
Both girls ignored each other for the rest of the night and they slept on opposite sides of the bed, facing away from each other.

The next morning was Christmas Day.

Cora woke first. She awoke, remembering it was Christmas, and ran to the window to see if it had snowed. It had. The ground and trees were blanketed in snow as far as the eye could see.

Erica stirred.

Cora turned towards the bed and she was the first thing that Erica saw upon opening her eyes.

“Good morning.” She said in a sleepy voice.

Cora couldn’t help smiling. “Good morning.” She said back.

Erica sat up and the pajama shirt, which had hiked up her stomach, fell back down. “I need you to tell me something.”

Cora’s face fell a little bit. “Yeah.”

Erica bit a nail and then said, “Do you like me?”

“Of course.” Cora said, surprised that this was in question.

“Not as a friend. I mean, oh god, this is awkward. Did you like when we kissed? Do you like me?”

“Yes.” Cora blurted out, turning perfectly crimson. “God, I like you so much.”  
“Thank god.” Erica breathed. “Everyone kept saying, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Uh, everyone?” Cora asked, spluttering.

Erica laughed and reached out for Cora. “I have liked you for so, so long and everyone kept telling me you liked me too but honestly, I couldn’t tell.”

Cora came to her.

They wrapped arms around each other. Cora cupped her hands around Erica’s face and they kissed again. It was warm and sweet and even better than the last time.

“Do you mean,” Cora demanded, some time later. “That all this time, we could have been doing this in our room?” She kissed Erica.

Erica smiled through the kiss. “If we hadn’t made a move, nothing would have happened. This is a reward. I’m your Christmas.” She laughed.

Cora smiled. “You’re my Christmas.”

                                                                                   F I N

**Author's Note:**

> I really, really did not intend to erase Erica's epilepsy. I think that's a very important part of who she is. I would not know how to write Erica seriously struggling with it so when I come back to edit and rework a little bit this fic, which I will need to, I am going extend the Winter break/Christmas Eve dinner scenes (it's too choppy imo at the moment) and I will put in a brief mention of Erica talking her medication and explaining her condition to Cora.


End file.
